With those words, the oppressive atmosphere hanging over the hotel lobby instantly vanished. Zhang Yuanqing and Xie Lingxi both breathed out lightly, the sense of being stared down by hungry wolves dissipating.
The woman at the front desk narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing the young man and woman sitting just a table away, then casually glanced outside the hotel.
"I understand. Please wait here, guests."
She withdrew her gaze, left the cold sentence hanging in the air, and walked deeper into the hotel. The clicking of her high heels faded into the distance.
Whew\... Xie Lingxi exhaled, her face pale as she whispered,
"Yuan Shi gege, I suddenly remembered something..."
Zhang Yuanqing glanced sideways at her.
Xie Lingxi shared her suspicion quietly, "We couldn't find any information on 'Master Wuhen.' Could it be that it's not that he's obscure, but that our clearance level is too low\...?"
If even a front desk clerk exuded such terrifying pressure, just imagine what level this Master Wuhen must be.
Zhang Yuanqing nodded gravely.
"I thought of that too. That's why I was planning to escape just now—and I was pretty confident I could."
"Huh?" Xie Lingxi's eyes widened in surprise. "I was completely weak in the legs just now, didn't even think about running away, only wanted to hide my head in your armpit."
So that's why you were confident about escaping—you only needed to run faster than your teammate... Zhang Yuanqing thought sarcastically in his heart. Then he opened his arms, trapping Xie Lingxi's head under his armpit, and asked,
"Does this make you feel safer?"
"Yuan Shi gege, let me go! Let me go! It's so embarrassing..." Xie Lingxi struggled vigorously.
She pulled her head out, fixed her crooked headset, and lowered her voice,
"Yuan Shi gege, my headset is a gadget. It can monitor all sounds within a 500-meter radius."
She focused and whispered,
"That woman just got into the elevator... the elevator stopped on the fourth floor... she opened the second door on the left side of the elevator... she disappeared?!"
Xie Lingxi looked up, stunned.
"She disappeared."
Disappeared? Could that hotel room be completely cut off from outside surveillance? Zhang Yuanqing patted the girl's shoulder, signaling her to stay calm.
The two waited silently. During the wait, Xie Lingxi kept glancing outside the hotel to confirm that the bodyguards sent by their clan were still watching over them, which gave her some comfort.
About ten minutes later, she leaned her head to one side and whispered,
"She's out..."
A few minutes passed, and Zhang Yuanqing heard the elevator's ding as the cabin returned to the first floor. The sound of high heels clicked again. The strikingly beautiful woman returned to the lobby, looked at them, and said,
"Follow me."
Her gaze swept coldly over the solemn young couple. With a sneer, she added,
"If you're scared, you can just turn around and leave."
Zhang Yuanqing smiled, "Sister, you look kind and trustworthy. We're not afraid."
Xie Lingxi softly said, "Auntie, we only came to deliver a message, no ill intent."
The woman's expression softened slightly as she nodded and led them into the elevator to the fourth floor.
Standing in the corridor, she looked toward the second room on the elevator's left side and said,
"Go in."
Zhang Yuanqing saw the room number: 404.
Nice number... he twitched at the corner of his mouth, then pulled Xie Lingxi to the door and turned the handle.
"Click."
The faint sound of the latch snapping echoed, and suddenly, a profound, tranquil power enveloped them. The surroundings quickly changed.
The carpet in the corridor transformed into simple celadon tiles; white painted walls turned into a mix of brick and wood; the bright fluorescent lights dimmed into flickering candlelight.
Zhang Yuanqing and Xie Lingxi looked around in shock. They were inside a grand temple hall, the seven-to-eight-meter-high ceiling adorned with intricate cloud pattern reliefs and painted countless deities and Buddhas.
Beneath the ceiling was a five-meter-tall golden Buddha statue, holding a flower, with eyes lowered—its expression a complex blend of compassion, solemnity, and coldness.
Eighteen thick candles burned brightly on an offering table.
Under the Buddha statue sat a blue-robed monk, tall and imposing, his seated height nearly matching Xie Lingxi's standing height.
Zhang Yuanqing and Xie Lingxi exchanged tense, fearful looks. One moment they were in a hotel corridor, the next in a strange temple.
If it weren't for the absence of the system's task prompt in their ears, they might have thought they were in a spirit realm mission again.
This Master Wuhen is far more terrifying than I imagined. What level spirit realm traveler must one be to pull off something like this... Zhang Yuanqing took a deep breath and respectfully addressed the blue-robed figure's back:
"Are you Master Wuhen?"
"You two—Night Wanderer and Musician—are you from the official organization?"
A deep, hoarse voice came, sounding strained as if enduring some pain.
"Yes!"
Zhang Yuanqing didn't dare to hide the truth.
The hall fell silent for over ten seconds, then the hoarse voice echoed again:
"What I said before I died as an unworthy father."
Zhang Yuanqing involuntarily lowered his voice:
"He asked me to deliver his message: 'I'm sorry. To this day, I don't know if I'm the one at fault—or this world.'"
As he said this, the last look of the unworthy father flashed vividly in his mind—eyes filled with hatred and sorrow.
The hall sank into a long, suffocating silence, making Zhang Yuanqing and Xie Lingxi anxious.
Finally... Master Wuhen sighed,
"I understand now."
Xie Lingxi hesitated, then bravely asked in a low voice:
"Master, he saved my life. He's not a villain. Why did he become an evil profession?"
The blue-robed monk slowly spoke:
"He once had a daughter—smart, well-behaved, always top of her class. But in university, she changed, chasing material things, blindly comparing herself to classmates. To support her, the unworthy father worked day and night, but her needs grew beyond reach.
"One day, he found she'd borrowed a large amount online and been blackmailed with compromising photos.
"He couldn't pay the debts and was ashamed of his daughter, disgracing the family. They had a terrible fight, and he threatened to sever ties. He blamed her for becoming materialistic and selfish, someone unrecognizable.
"Later, loan sharks took control of the girl, forcing her into prostitution, abusing her without mercy. In despair, she jumped to her death.
"The unworthy father broke down. He started to think the fault wasn't hers, but his—and this world's. If only he could have given her a better life, paid off her debts, this tragedy wouldn't have happened.
"He regretted their fight countless times. If only he had comforted and accompanied her then, none of this would have happened—it was he who pushed her into the abyss.
"After her death, he tried to sue the loan sharks and abusers, but the company was powerful locally and he lost.
"He fell into despair, realizing that it's not people who change their environment—it's the environment that changes people. When society screams at you about money and material wealth every day, you will be affected. No one is immune.
"His daughter hadn't yet entered society, unaware of human cruelty, misled to spend and borrow, ultimately doomed to that path. This world is rotten. He vowed to avenge his daughter himself...
"He broke into the loan company, killed those who abused and forced her, then fled. That massacre earned him a character card—becoming a 'bewitching demon.'"
"The unworthy father is extreme, but not a bloodthirsty villain. Once locked into the evil profession, there's no turning back. He's fallen deeper, climbed ranks, yet grown more miserable.
"One day, he met me and began training by my side, hoping to dispel his anger and find redemption. But he's too stubborn—he refuses to kill innocents yet won't reconcile with this world.
"Maybe death is the best fate for him..."
No wonder he wanted to save Xie Lingxi—his daughter was about her age. He regretted not saving his daughter back then. That leap didn't save Xie Lingxi, but the girl who jumped to her death... Zhang Yuanqing glanced at the quiet girl, Xie Lingxi was speechless, eyes reddening.
He sighed silently,
"Master, I think he has already found redemption."
Master Wuhen, still facing away, neither confirmed nor denied. He lightly waved his hand, and two beams of faint light floated from his sleeve, landing by Zhang Yuanqing and Xie Lingxi's feet.
They looked down. Two pieces of jet-black jade, half a palm in size, shimmered with black light swirling inside, shifting in dreamlike patterns.
After just a few seconds of watching, both felt darkness creeping into their vision, dizziness sweeping over them.
"Thank you for bringing back his last words. This is the 'Dream Connection Jade Talisman.' Crushing it can contact me. If you're in danger, I'll help you once. Only effective in the real world; useless in the spirit realm," Master Wuhen said faintly.
"Leave now."
The Buddha statues and candlelight twisted and shattered. Zhang Yuanqing and Xie Lingxi returned to the hotel, standing before the open door of a standard single room.
At their feet lay the two black jade pieces.